Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
As water levels in the lake fall, child brides, poverty & terrorism rise
In the second part of our Nextgen International project, two Nigerian activists write about how the climate crisis is fuelling terrorist conflict in the country and the devastating consequences this has on children, particularly girls.
Our charity partner Save the Children is implementing a range of life-saving Eu-funded projects in the north of Nigeria to help reduce the devastating impact of climate change on children’s lives and build resilience in their communities.
They are working to develop early warning systems to save lives, improving desert control to help crops grow, strengthening management of natural resources and running tree planting projects to promote a greener environment for children to thrive.
You can help by donating to their emergency fund at: www.savethe children.org.uk/mirrorclimatecrisis
27, ecofeminist and founder of I Lead Climate Action initiative
WE see the impact of the climate crisis on a daily basis in my area of Nigeria. In the Lake Chad region we experience flash flooding, heatwaves and desertification.
But what many do not understand is how the climate crisis is also driving armed conflict, and the impact this has on girls and women.
In 2014, I was horrified at the abduction of the 276 schoolgirls in the Lake Chad town of Chibok by the terrorist group Boko Haram.
It caused an international outcry and inspired the Bring Back Our Girls campaign, which I joined to shout about how climate change, armed conflict and girls’ rights go hand-in-hand. The terror group is
still active today and climate change is exacerbating it.
Climate change is also contributing to an increasing number of out-of-school children; flash floods stop them from getting to class and cause illness, while extreme heat creates an impossible environment to work in.
All of this increases their vulnerability to join armed groups.
In a recent report by UNICEF, out of the 163 countries, Nigeria ranked second in terms of the risk that climate change poses to children, particularly in the Lake Chad region.
The lake is a lifeline for the 30 million people who need its natural resources.
This report spurred us to use earth satellite imagery to map out areas in the lake region that have been affected by conflict and search for safe places that can support both the displaced and the rest of the community members.
Through this imagery, we found the lake is shrinking. It has shrunk by 90% since the 1960s.
And as it recedes, armed groups thrive by taking control of the new land. This has led to an inter-border conflict and proves the climate crisis has no boundaries.
The shrinking of the lake has also affected livelihoods such as farming, fishing and animal husbandry.
The number of child brides has increased as a result because their parents can’t find work to fund their children’s education and welfare.
Nigeria has the highest number of child brides in the world, mostly in the Lake Chad basin area – 95% of the 20 million living across the basin, covering seven countries, are affected.
This is what made me become an ecofeminist.
In the north-central part of Nigeria, these crises have escalated into herdsman moving across the shore lines of the Lake Chad basin for greener pastures.
But this, of course, has led to yet further conflict over the land and competition for the little natural resources that are left.
On top of all this, Nigeria has suffered on herdsmen century as of the lake.
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